Izark Kia Tarj

Izark is the series main male protagonist and is the legendary Sky Demon. He is also Noriko's love interest.

Appearance
Izark has long jet black hair with a bandanna often tied underneath bangs and black (sometimes blue or green) eyes. He holds the obvious aura of a traveling warrior and usually carries a blank or uninterested expression. His exact height is unknown but, he is shorter than Barago and around the same height as Agol.

As a child, Izark was drawn as always scared or confused. He seemed to be of average height and his eyes were drawn slightly wider than they are in his older years. His hair was not as long as it becomes, barely resting his shoulders.

In his teen years, Izark appeared frail and slightly feminine as he did not train his body like he does in his adulthood. In the beginning of the series he is 19 and, in Volume 6, he is 20.

His appearance as the Sky Demon varies though some part of the creature do remain consistent. Usually, Izark bares a horn on the center of his forehead and his pupils dilate to that similar to a cat's iris. He tends to grow fangs and his hair seems to change to a light color, on volume 7's cover it's depicted that his hair changes to a light grey. His hands also drastically change to claws and his ears become elf-like.

Personality
Even though he comes off as cold and emotionless, Izark is gravely afraid of himself and believes that his destiny is set in stone so long as Noriko is alive. He chooses to keep all of his affairs professional to avoid hurting people. This stems from his tragic past, as he unintentionally cause the suffering and eventual demise of his parents.

His first friend was Gaya, which was only because Gaya relentlessly insisted on teaching him swordplay. However, he does greatly value their friendship even if may not appear so. His greatest fear, aside from becoming the Sky Demon, is hurting those he loves, especially Noriko.

He cares for Noriko but, as he is aware of her destiny, he tries to avoid her and protect her. This often confuses Noriko, as he by her side one minute then the next, he is unusually distant from her. He knows that he loves Noriko, being that she is the first person to see his inhuman strength and not judge him for it, and it fills him great internal conflict.

When Noriko is not in his presence, Izark becomes concerned to the point of losing control of his powers. Throughout the story, he manages to tame his powers fairly well, only having minor slips or not being in the presences of his comrades (minus Noriko). Only once had he lost his control of his emotions, letting all the boiling rage and fear spill out, turning him into a form of a Sky Demon. During this stage, he lost all reason, forgetting about Noriko and only thinking about destruction. Only after he is reunited with Noriko, that he reverts back to his normal form. However, this isn't the first time a part of the Sky Demon came out. The first time he changed, it was more that he let his guard down rather than he let the Sky Demon take over.

Izark is not really one for jokes, shown when Barago teases him over being protective of Noriko while she was healing in volume 6. However, despite this Izark learns to be more playful and will occasionally tease Noriko. He also learns that Noriko is maturing and becoming braver than she was when they first met.

Childhood
Izark grew up with his mother and father, his memories of them are quite horrific. His mother was beyond frighten of him, calling him a monster and even tried to kill him. His father avoided him as much as possible yet when Izark wanted to leave, fearing for his parents' well-being, his father refused to allow it. He informs Izark that they made a pact with a demon and they were to raise Izark so he could become the Sky Demon and shake the world with his might. Even so, Izark still runs away. After a while he returns and finds that his house was burnt down and his parents died in the flames. After that Izark had lived all alone, until...

Meeting Gaya
When Izark was 17 he was hired to work for a traveling cavern. Due to the fact he was so skinny and appeared so frail, Izark tended to the live stock instead of working on the heavy jobs. He was very quiet and kept to himself, which oddly made him a target for bullying by the rougher men of the group. One night the men had pushed the limit with Izark, causing him to finally fight back until one tried to bring a sword into the fight. It was this event that caused Gaya to become somewhat obsessed with Izark, she wanted to teach Izark sword play so he could be better armed next time someone attacked him. After much persistent Izark finally agreed to practice and was discovered to be a fast learner. After so long Gaya became Izark's first and only friend and he promised to visit her again when the two left the cavern.

Noriko Tachiki
He originally planned to kill Noriko but after realizing that she is unaware of her fate he decides to try to hide her so that no one could use her to awaken the Sky Demon. He begins to slowly change and eventually realizes his feeling for Noriko. One of his many conflicts was how he could get Noriko to hate him when he wanted her to stay by his side. When he begins to accept Noriko he realizes how much he needs her in his life, so much that he loses control of the Sky Demon when he desperate to find her.

Gaya il Biska
Gaya is Izark's first friend he had ever made. They met while working for a traveling cavern, Gaya being the cook and Izark tending to the live stock. Back then Izark was 17, very skinny, and quiet, making him the target for bullying. Gaya eventually began to teach Izark sword play after an encounter with the men who bullied him. This allowed him more control over his inner beast. Years later he asks Gaya to watch over Noriko, not telling her the Noriko is the Awakening, and leaves hoping that Gaya will take care if Noriko for him. When Gaya learns that Noriko and Izark are the Sky Demon and Awakening she still cares for them.

Barago
Izark and Barago were once rivals when Izark beat him up for Lord Nada's entertainment. After his humiliation Barago saw the error of his ways and became Izark's close friend.

Banadam
Banadam and Izark are rivals in love. Banadam quickly fell for the kind-hearted Noriko and Izark showed both annoyance and jealousy. Banadam believed that Izark didn't care for Noriko, stating that Izark enjoyed toying with her out of rage. He later accepts that Noriko loves only Izark and realizes that Izark does indeed return her feelings.

Volume 1

 * "I don't understand the language you are speaking."
 * "The Awakening is suppose to be......something that drives this world into turmoil. I didn't expect..that the Awakening would ask my name in such a friendly way."
 * "Why do I keep running into trouble?"
 * "I give you these. They're my clothes that you were wearing earlier today. Use them to sleep in."

Trivia

 * Izark's parents were scared of him, as they knew he was destined to be the Sky Demon. Lord Rachef's mother also rejected him but for a different reason. The two share this memory of rejection but Izark moved on because of Noriko but Lord Rachef couldn't as he was only wanted everyone to do as he said.
 * Some readers sent questions about if Izark was aware of womanly needs and according to Manga Aka Kyoko Hikawa, Izark had asked the inn keeper's wife from volume one to assist Noriko, although this was never shown.
 * Izark is simliar to Queen Elsa (from Disney's Frozen) in a few ways:
 * Both are born with powers that average people do not possess.
 * Both share tragic and traumatizing childhoods, although Elsa's was unintentionally so.
 * Both distance themselves from people, even those they love, in order to prevent their powers from being discovered. Elsa also fears killing her sister Anna and Izark does imply that he is afraid that he may accidentally kill Noriko should the Sky Demon be unleashed.
 * Both eventually realize that they can do wonderful things with their powers and develop more cheerful and playful personalities.
 * Both also have someone of power that they dislike and see justice to their actions later on. For Elsa, that would the Duke from Weselton and for Izark, it's Lord Nada.